New Federal Guidelines Issued on Ebola

[Content Note: Illness.]

Following the absurdery and indecency going on in New York and New Jersey, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued new guidelines regarding healthcare workers returning to the United States after assisting with the crisis in West Africa:

Medics flying into the US after treating Ebola patients in Guinea, Liberia or Sierra Leone should be more closely monitored by local authorities for 21 days, according to new national guidelines published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

However only those deemed "high risk" – those who did not wearing proper protective clothing, or were exposed to the virus via a needle or other injury – should automatically require quarantines in their homes, Tom Frieden, the CDC director, told a conference call.

...Under the CDC's latest "active monitoring" guideline, all returning healthcare workers are deemed to be at "some risk" of Ebola, and should register with regional authorities. They would then have daily temperature checks observed by an official, Frieden said, adding that this would help swifter action in the event of any symptoms developing.

These medics should also notify regional authorities at their destinations before travelling away from home, according to the CDC, so that there would be no break in the daily monitoring of their condition.

By contrast, "for the high-risk individuals, we are recommending voluntary at-home isolation, including not going on public transportation and flying," Frieden said.

...The CDC director again stressed that Americans were highly unlikely to contract Ebola. "I understand that people are afraid. People are unfamiliar," said Frieden. "It is a severe disease, but it is not highly contagious."

I am very glad the CDC director continues to emphasize that people in the US are unlikely to contract Ebola, and I wish the media would be way more diligent in prominently reporting that. Although, if your entire objective is alarmism, well.

In related news, Shaker Wordaddict passed along this official White House photo by Pete Souza of President Obama hugging Dallas nurse Nina Pham, who has now recovered from Ebola:


There are times when I really just love President Obama with my whole heart, and this is one of them. The importance of this picture, of the President hugging someone who has had the virus, in the middle of an alarmist panic, cannot be overstated. This is the sort of presidenting that rarely gets any credit, but credit is well-deserved. Thank you, Mr. President.